Juniper Valley bocce courts are a soggy mess

From CBS:

Bocce ball players in Queens say a city redesign ruined their courts at a park in Middle Village.

The Parks Department spent $850,000 to renovate Juniper Valley Park — but the canopies above the courts, which were designed to block out the sun, funnel rainwater onto the courts, creating holes in the playing field and flooding which takes days to dry out.

Parks messes up bocce courts

From the Queens Courier:

Juniper Valley Park’s three new bocce courts opened on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and talk of meatballs and spaghetti. But for the players, most of whom are older Italians, the new courts don’t meet their standards.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said that the new courts, which replaced two older ones, were “Grade-A.” But many of the players present during the ceremony weren’t such generous graders.

“It looks nice. They spent a lot of money on this,” John Pistone, 62, said. “So I give them an A for effort but for efficiency, I give them an F.”

Pistone and his fellow bocce players complained that the new $850,000 courts weren’t leveled correctly and that the design of the overhead shades didn’t prevent rain from soaking the courts. The bulk of the money came from Katz’s office and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley allocated another $50,000.

Bowne Park update

From 10am until sundown on Friday after the original Bowne Park post was put up, I received reports that parks workers were there in droves addressing the nasty conditions present. Here is an update:

Hi Crappy –

Well – they’ve mowed the lawn and emptied the trash.

Here are some pix.

Decaying tree branches providing a much-needed tripping hazard – check!

Inaccessible garbage pail out of reach within the fenced-off area, surrounded by garbage chucked over the fence – check!

Unnecessary second bocce court construction project on target for mid-2014 completion – check!

Scummy, dirty broke-down pond – check!

Gee - mowing the lawn did not entirely eliminate the neglected, sorry atmosphere at Bowne Park – go figure!

To Quote Bette Davis (and Elizabeth Taylor) - "What a Dump!"

Regards,

Flooshing Rezident

$850K bocce courts coming to Juniper Park

From DNA Info:

Bocce ball players in Middle Village will have more room to play soon, because the city Parks Department is planning on adding a new court to Juniper Valley Park.

The new court, revealed in a city request for proposals released Wednesday, is part of several bocce-related renovations for Juniper Valley park.

The renovations will cost $850,000 and will include the reconstruction of two existing courts in the park, along with shade structures, benches, game tables, lawns and trees.

The new court is a welcome addition to players in Middle Village, where bocce is hugely popular. Players say the current courts have several problems; including a slanted surface that prevents the court from draining rain water properly and the midday sun.

But the bigger problem, players say, is that the courts are too crowded.

Interestingly, back in February, Parks said the new courts would cost $750,000. So the cost went up by $100K in 6 months?

Bocce players can't figure out why new court is so expensive

From the Times Ledger:

The board voted to support the construction of a bocce court in Bowne Park, between 29th and 32nd avenues and 155th and 159th streets, but had reservations about the costs and timeline for the project.

The city Parks Department’s plan to add a new bocce court next to the one that already exists is slated to cost $507,000, which initially made board members scoff.

But Parks made it clear the money will also go toward refurbishing the old court, repaving the plaza around the courts and adding extra amenities, including benches and picnic tables, according to the department.

And in what CB 7 Chairman Gene Kelty said could be a potentially costly repair, Parks will add a ground fire hydrant to provide water for both the bocce courts and nearby vegetation.

“If anyone knows plumbing work and hydrants, it’s going to be costly,” he said. “It’s not just for a bocce court, there is other ancillary stuff here.”

Nevertheless, the board wanted to ensure Parks was spending the money wisely and asked the department for a detailed construction plan.

City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) also wanted to make sure that Parks did not waste any cash, since he partially funded the project.

“An extra bocce court will be a good thing for Bowne Park and I’m proud to have helped provide one,” he said in a statement. “But nothing comes cheap through city government. I’m pressing for Parks to make this happen as affordably as possible.”

Watch the video and ask yourself why a "state grant" was needed on top of $500K from the City budget for a bocce court. Notice how the guys playing can't seem to figure it out, either.

Bowne Park bocce bonanza

Crapper:

Just wanted to let you in on a planned, and practically approved, Parks Department project in Bowne Park.

It seems that the Parks people and community board 7 are approving the addition of a second bocce court in Bowne Park at an estimate cost of.....ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
That's right ONE MILLION! A one and six zeros.

This court will serve one constituency of North Flushing and that is the local Bocce players. These players ignore the park closing time of 9 PM and play their games until 2 - 3 AM while using lights hooked up to a light pole for their night games. They are constantly smoking (Yeah, that is a small complaint but the courts are right by a kids playground and the smoke constantly wafts over the playground) which is against city laws. They are gambling BIG TIME on games. They are also sitting on chairs at card and picnic tables they bring into the park and leave there for their gambling purposes. The local players refuse to let anyone other than their friends play on the courts. And lastly, one of the players was involved in the Mr. Softee drug bust at the park several years ago.

A hearing will be held on Monday, Feb. 13th, at Community Board 7 which is located at 133-32 41st Road by Union St.

If possible, you might want to publicize this atrocious use of tax payer money on a single bocce court. I mean, a million bucks is more than 99% of the houses in North Flushing and its surrounds sell for.

Thanks,

Phil

Photo from Queens Tribune